Can we produce more beef without increasing its environmental impact? Argentina as a case study

Abstract

We analyse the current and future environmental impact of beef in Argentina, comparing four environmental dimensions (GHG, ecotoxicity, erosion and biodiversity) across 21 cow-calf systems and 47 finishing systems. The cow-calf and the finishing stages contributed equally to beef production, but impacts varied between stages (70 % of soil erosion and 75 % of GHG emissions occurred during the cow-calf stage, whereas 72 % of impact on biodiversity and 99 % of pesticide ecotoxicity occurred during the finishing stage). More intensive systems showed higher ecotoxicity and impact on biodiversity, and lower emissions and erosion per kg of beef than the more extensive systems. However, the intensity of this trade-off varied regionally, being more noticeable in the central regions of the Pampas and less so in the peripheric non-pampean regions. We also projected future beef production and environmental impacts under different production scenarios and found that it might be possible to increase beef production in Argentina by 15 % without a significant increase in the environmental impact of the sector (given a reduction of the ecotoxicological impact of crop production). We also showed that this could be achieved by adopting available practices and that the sector's self-set goals are compatible with this scenario.